Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski) on TNG

I was wondering what Diana Muldaur had to say about her year on TNG on the new blu ray and if any of the other actors had anything to say about the Pulaski character (f.e. during the reunion special on the blu ray).

I've heard stuff from her and about her form the past and it mostly wasn't very positive.

Could anyone shed some light? Most of the stuff on the official blu ray season 2 thread is more technical.

Yeah, I don't seem to recall ever having seen her featured at any of the major conventions. If she found her time on Trek a negative experience at least she's not grinding her axe about everything she dislikes. Sirtis certainly was never shy about pointing fingers at any part of the franchise she didn't like.

I've heard stuff from her and about her form the past and it mostly wasn't very positive.

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Well, she wasnt as close to the actors as the rest was. They were friends and she wasnt friends with any of them. It seems to me that she was just doing a job as an actor there. She only felt closer to Micheal Dorn. She thinks, her salary maybe was a problem, since she got a higher one than the other regulars, even tho she just got the part on the show.

The main reason for her to say yes to the job was Gene Roddenberry and that she loved working with him. And after he died and the way the studio handled that matter (she claims, Roddenberry's office was cleared pretty much right after his death), she didnt liked working there anymore. It seems, she really disliked the production side of TNG and the people involved into the production of the show, and she did not want to work with them anymore.

But she felt, that TNG really represented the heart of Star Trek and the philosophy. But one of the most important things was for her, that her work on TNG gave her the job on L.A. Law, because the producers looked at footage from her there.

It seems to me, that Muldaur was too much influenced by the athmosphere on the production/writing side of TNG and that she wasnt able to connect to the main actors and be friends with them like the rest, so she could compensate that negative, rough athmosphere behind the camera.

That's what I get from what she says (especially the interview from the TV-Archive).

I see why you would get that impression; she's smiling and laughing during her interview session.

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I repeat, just an impression . In the interview basically she doesn't say anything about the work. How she got the job, yes. What a wonderful person was Gene. Something about the uniform and the technobabble. Stop. Not a single episode, the impression on the set, nothing.

Diana Muldaur is a very classy person (I had the pleasure of meeting her at the Las Vegas convention this year) and has never come out and said it directly but she's strongly hinted that she had a terrible time on TNG.

There was tension between Muldaur and the majority of the cast from the start. First of all she was coming in to replace Gates McFadden who had been fired because of disagreements between her and Maurice Hurley over how her character was developing (or lack thereof). Patrick Stewart in particular was appalled by McFadden's firing, which he made no secret of and openly campaigned for her return.

Second, Muldaur joined the show as a personal favor to Gene Roddenberry whom she liked and wanted to work with again. Because of this Diana got some perks the other actors didn't namely she was paid more than everyone except Patrick Stewart (we forget it now that while not a household name, Muldaur was a very well respected character in Hollywood and could demand high pay). Also Diana hated the one piece spandex Starfleet uniforms so Roddenberry ordered a special two piece uniform be created just for her (the rest of the cast had been campaigning for more comfortable uniforms since the start). Finally, because of her status in Hollywood she was to have been listed before Levar Burton in the opening credits but the cast protested so Roddenberry and Muldaur decided she would be listed as 'Special Appearance.' These things caused a great deal of jealousy and bitterness.

Muldaur admitted she found the whole experience very uncreative and she hated all the tech talk. She only signed a one year contract so when the year was over she had no intention of returning.

Any ideas why she wasn't featured in the main credits for S2?
I always thought the highest paid actor gets the first starring slot in the credits - or an "And Starring Diana Muldaur as Dr. Katherine Pulaski" at the end after the regular/alphabetical order, or at least a "Special Appearence by"-thingy?
But she always just got the "Also Starring" part when the episodes were already rolling.

Any ideas why she wasn't featured in the main credits for S2?
I always thought the highest paid actor gets the first starring slot in the credits - or an "And Starring Diana Muldaur as Dr. Katherine Pulaski" at the end after the regular/alphabetical order, or at least a "Special Appearence by"-thingy?
But she always just got the "Also Starring" part when the episodes were already rolling.

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It was Muldaur's choice.

The producers offered her a main cast role, but she didn't want it since that meant she would required to be on the show for several seasons. She wanted the freedom that a guest star had so she could take other acting jobs too.

Any ideas why she wasn't featured in the main credits for S2?
I always thought the highest paid actor gets the first starring slot in the credits - or an "And Starring Diana Muldaur as Dr. Katherine Pulaski" at the end after the regular/alphabetical order, or at least a "Special Appearence by"-thingy?
But she always just got the "Also Starring" part when the episodes were already rolling.

Click to expand...

At the Las Vegas convention this year, when asked about her status on the show Muldaur said she was supposed to be third in the credits (I'm assuming after Jonathan Frakes but before Levar Burton) but members of the cast protested and so she and Roddenberry opted to credit her as making "Special Guest Appearances."

As part of agreeing to join the show, Muldaur only signed a one year contract and she had moved out of LA (I think I remember her saying to somewhere in Arizona) just before she was asked to join TNG she had decided to retire from acting. I got the impression that even if she had liked working on the show, she wouldn't have stayed the whole run.

He [Hurley] also told me that the remaining cast was was so resentful at the firing of McFadden, they took their anger out on Diana Muldaur the next season, and they were so cruel to her, she often left the set in tears.